Government forced back to High Court over failing trout river

Upper Costa Beck in decline

A trout river once regarded as one of the finest in northern England has been left in decline for nearly two decades – and the Government has now been forced back to the High Court again for failing to act.

The Upper Costa Beck, a spring-fed stream near Pickering in North Yorkshire, was once renowned for its wild trout fishing. Today, its deterioration is well documented, with pollution pressures including sewage discharges and upstream impacts steadily eroding the river’s health.

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High Court orders government to act again

Environmental lawyers Fish Legal have secured a second High Court ruling after the Government admitted that its latest plan to protect the Costa Beck was unlawful. The court has now quashed that plan, ordering the Environment Agency to go back and start again.

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Why the case matters nationally

The case matters to anglers far beyond North Yorkshire because it exposes the gap between environmental law on paper and what actually happens on the riverbank. Courts have already ruled – a decision upheld by the Court of Appeal – that river protection plans must include clear, practical actions for individual rivers. Yet despite those supposedly stringent rules, the Costa Beck was again left without any meaningful recovery plan.

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Wider concerns over river protection

The Office for Environmental Protection has now warned that this failure may not be isolated, raising wider concerns about river protection across England.

“The courts have been clear twice,” said Fish Legal’s Zoe Wedderburn-Day. “Now the regulator has to act. Delay is no longer an option.” Under the new order, a lawful, river-specific plan must be produced by June 2026.